Saturday, May 6, 2017

Red Tide found in background concentrations in Gulf County

Over the past week, Karenia brevis was observed at background to very low concentrations in four samples collected from Pinellas County; background concentrations in two samples collected from Manatee County; and background to very low concentrations in twelve samples collected from Sarasota County.

Two samples collected from the Northwest Coast (Bay and Gulf counties) contained background concentrations of K. brevis. Additional samples collected throughout Florida over the past week did not contain K. brevis.

Slight respiratory irritation was reported at Nokomis (Sarasota County) on 5/5. Forecasts for Southwest Florida by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides predict net southern transport of surface waters and net southern, onshore movement of subsurface waters from Pinellas to northern Monroe counties over the next three days.

This information, including maps and reports with additional details, is also available on the FWRI Red Tide website. The website also provides links to additional information related to the topic of Florida red tide including satellite imagery, experimental red tide forecasts, shellfish harvesting areas, the FWC Fish Kill Hotline, the Florida Poison Information Center (to report human health effects related to exposure to red tide), and other wildlife related hotlines.

To learn more about various organisms that have been known to cause algal blooms in Florida waters, see the FWRI Red Tide Flickr page. Archived status maps can also be found on Flickr.

The FWRI HAB group in conjunction with Mote Marine Laboratory now have a facebook page. Please like our page and learn interesting facts concerning red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida.